Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 12 / Friday, January 19, 2007 / Notices 2591 

respect to the preparation of the NEPA 

document. 

(m) Reservation of Rights. All rights of 

FTA not expressly provided herein are 

hereby reserved by FTA. 

Issued this 12th day of January, 2007. 

James S. Simpson, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E7–651 Filed 1–18–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Research & Innovative Technology 

Administration 

[Docket: OST—2007—26835] 

Agency Information Collection; 

Activity Under OMB Review; Report of 

Passengers Denied Confirmed 

Space—BTS Form 251 

AGENCY: Research & Innovative 

Technology Administration (RITA), 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

(BTS), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13, the Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics invites the 

general public, industry and other 

governmental parties to comment on the 

continuing need for and usefulness of 

BTS collecting reports on the number of 

passengers holding confirmed 

reservations that voluntarily or 

involuntarily give up their seats when 

the airline oversells the flight. 

Comments are requested concerning 

whether (a) the collection is still needed 

by the Department of Transportation; (b) 

BTS accurately estimated the reporting 

burden; (c) there are other ways to 

enhance the quality, utility and clarity 

of the information collected; and (d) 

there are ways to minimize reporting 

burden, including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by March 20, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bernie Stankus, Office of Airline 

Information, RTS–42, Room 4125, RITA, 

BTS, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20590–0001, 

Telephone Number (202) 366–4387, Fax 

Number (202) 366–3383 or E-Mail 

bernard.stankus@dot.gov. 

Comments: Comments should identify 

the associated OMB approval # 2138–

0018 and Docket OST—2007–26835. 

Persons wishing the Department to 

acknowledge receipt of their comments 

must submit with those comments a 

self-addressed stamped postcard on 

which the following statement is made: 

Comments on OMB # 2138–0018, 

Docket OST—26835. The postcard will 

be date/time stamped and returned. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Approval No. 2138–0018 

Title: Report of Passengers Denied 

Confirmed Space. 

Form No: BTS Form 251. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents: Large certificated and 

foreign air carrier. 

Number of Respondents: 100. 

Number of Responses: 400. 

Total Annual Burden: 1,670 hours. 

Needs and Uses: BTS Form 251 is a 

one-page report on the number of 

passengers denied boarding (voluntarily 

and involuntarily), whether the bumped 

passengers were provided alternate 

transportation and/or compensation, 

and the amount of the payment. U.S. 

and foreign air carriers that operate 

scheduled passenger service with large 

aircraft (over 60-seats) must submit 

Form 251. In addition, carriers report 

data from inbound international flights 

because the protections of 14 CFR part 

250 Oversales do not apply to these 

flights. The report allows the 

Department to monitor the effectiveness 

of its oversales rule and take 

enforcement action when necessary. 

While the involuntarily denied-boarding 

rate has decrease from 4.38 per 10,000 

passengers in 1980 to 1.04 for the nine 

months ended September 2006, the rate 

is up from the 0.89 attained for the nine 

months ended September 2005. The 

publishing of the carriers’ individual 

denied boarding rates has negated the 

need for more intrusive regulation. The 

rate of denied boarding can be examined 

as a continuing fitness factor. This rate 

provides an insight into a carrier’s 

customer service policy and its 

compliance disposition. A rapid 

sustained increase in the rate of denied 

boarding often in an indicator of 

operational difficulty. Because the rate 

of denied boarding is released quarterly, 

travelers and travel agents can select 

carriers with low bumping incidents 

when booking a trip. This information is 

available in the Air Travel Consumer 

Report at: http:// 

airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/ 

index.htm. The Air Travel Consumer 

Report is also sent to newspapers, 

magazines, and trade journals. Without 

Form 251, determining the effectiveness 

of the Department’s oversales rule 

would be impossible. 

The Confidential Information 

Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act 

of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note), requires 

a statistical agency to clearly identify 

information it collects for non-statistical 

purposes. BTS hereby notifies the 

respondents and the public that BTS 

uses the information it collects under 

this OMB approval for non-statistical 

purposes including, but not limited to, 

publication of both Respondent’s 

identity and its data, submission of the 

information to agencies outside BTS for 

review, analysis and possible use in 

regulatory and other administrative 

matters. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 12, 

2007. 

Donald W. Bright, 

Assistant Director, Airline Information, 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 

[FR Doc. E7–711 Filed 1–18–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–FE–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Ex Parte No. 664] 

Methodology To Be Employed in 

Determining the Railroad Industry’s 

Cost of Capital 

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Public Hearing. 

SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation 

Board will hold a public hearing 

beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, 

February 15, 2007, at its offices in 

Washington, DC. The purpose of the 

hearing will be for members of the 

public to present their views to assist 

the Board in its examination of the 

appropriate methodology to be 

employed in determining the railroad 

industry’s estimated cost of capital to be 

used in future annual cost-of-capital 

determinations. Persons wishing to 

speak at the hearing should notify the 

Board in writing. 

DATES: The public hearing will take 

place on Thursday, February 15, 2007. 

Any person wishing to speak at the 

hearing should file with the Board a 

written notice of intent to participate 

and should identify the party, the 

proposed speaker, the time requested, 

and the topic(s) to be covered, as soon 

as possible but no later than February 5, 

2007. Each speaker should also file with 

the Board a written summary of his/her 

testimony by February 12, 2007. Written 

submissions by interested persons who 

do not wish to appear at the hearing will 

also be due by February 12, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: All notices of intent to 

participate and testimony may be 

submitted either via the Board’s e-filing 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
2592 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 12 / Friday, January 19, 2007 / Notices 

format or in the traditional paper 

format. Any person using e-filing should 

comply with the Board’s 

www.stb.dot.gov Web site, at the ‘‘EFILING’’ link. Any person submitting a 

filing in the traditional paper format 

should send an original and 10 copies 

of the filing to: Surface Transportation 

Board, Attn: STB Ex Parte No. 664, 1925 

K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: 

Paul Aguiar, (202) 565–1527. 

[Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at: 

(800) 877–8339.] 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By an 

advance notice of proposed rulemaking 

served on September 20, 2006, the 

Board sought comments on the 

appropriate methodology to be 

employed in determining the railroad 

industry’s estimated cost of capital. The 

Board will hold a public hearing to 

provide a forum for interested persons 

to provide views and information about 

the Board’s cost-of-capital calculation. 

Participants can also comment on how 

evidence should be submitted and 

analyzed in future cost-of-capital 

proceedings. 

The annual determination of the 

railroad industry’s cost of capital is used 

in evaluating the adequacy of railroad 

revenues each year. This information 

can also be used in other Board 

proceedings, such as those involving the 

prescription of maximum reasonable 

rate levels. Section 205 of the Railroad 

Revitalization and Regulatory Reform 

Act of 1976 (4R Act) created the 

requirement for the Board to establish 

and maintain standards for railroad 

revenue adequacy. Subsequent laws 

(including the ICC Termination Act of 

1995) have retained this requirement. 

Thus, each year the Board makes a 

determination of which railroads are or 

are not revenue adequate. 

The Board uses the Discounted Cash 

Flow (DCF) methodology to calculate 

the cost of equity, which in turn is used 

to calculate the cost of capital. Parties 

participating in this hearing should 

discuss any changes in the underlying 

railroad industry economic conditions 

and whether those changes suggest the 

need to change the methodology used 

by the Board. The Board invites 

information on the shortcomings of any 

proposed methodology and the current 

DCF method used in calculating cost of 

capital. 

Date of Hearing. The hearing will 

begin at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, 

February 15, 2007, in the 7th floor 

hearing room at the Board’s 

headquarters in Washington, DC, and 

will continue, with short breaks if 

necessary, until every person scheduled 

to speak has been heard. 

Notice of Intent To Participate. Any 

person wishing to speak at the hearing 

should file with the Board a written 

notice of intent to participate, and 

should identify the party, the proposed 

speaker, the time requested, and topic(s) 

to be covered, as soon as possible, but 

no later than February 5, 2007. 

Testimony. Each speaker should file 

with the Board a written summary of 

his/her testimony by February 12, 2007. 

Also, any interested person who wishes 

to submit a written statement without 

appearing at the February 15 hearing 

should file that statement by February 

12, 2007. 

Board Releases and Live Audio 

Available Via the Internet. Decisions 

and notices of the Board, including this 

notice, are available on the Board’s Web 

site at www.stb.dot.gov. This hearing 

will be available on the Board’s Web site 

by live audio streaming. To access the 

hearing, click on the ‘‘Live Audio’’ link 

under ‘‘Information Center’’ at the left 

side of the home page beginning at 9:30 

a.m. on February 15, 2007. 

This action will not significantly 

affect either the quality of the human 

environment or the conservation of 

energy resources. 

Dated: January 12, 2007. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–655 Filed 1–18–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Information 

Collection; Comment Request 

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency (OCC), Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on a continuing information 

collection, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. Currently, the 

OCC is soliciting comment concerning 

its renewal of an information collection 

titled, ‘‘(MA)—Municipal Securities 

Dealers and Government Securities 

Brokers and Dealers Registration and 

Withdrawal.’’

DATES: You should submit written 

comments by March 20, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You should direct all 

written comments to the 

Communications Division, Attention: 

1557–0184, Third Floor, Office of the 

Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. In 

addition, you may send comments by 

facsimile transmission to (202) 874–

5274, or by electronic mail to 

regs.comments@occ.treas.gov. You can 

inspect and photocopy the comments at 

the OCC’s Public Reference Room, 250 

E Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on business days. You 

can make an appointment to inspect the 

comments by calling (202) 874–5043. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You 

can request additional information from 

or a copy of the collection from Mary 

Gottlieb or Camille Dickerson, (202) 

874–5090, Legislative and Regulatory 

Activities Division (1557–0184), Office 

of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 

E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219. 

Additionally, you should send a copy 

of your comments to OCC Desk Officer, 

1557–0184, by mail to U.S. Office of 

Management and Budget, 725, 17th 

Street, NW., #10235, Washington, DC 

20503, or by fax to (202) 395–6974. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The OCC 

is proposing to extend OMB approval of 

the following information collection: 

Title: (MA)—Municipal Securities 

Dealers and Government Securities 

Brokers and Dealers Registration and 

Withdrawal. 

OMB Number: 1557–0184. 

Form Numbers: MSD, MSDW, MSD–

4, MSD–5, G–FIN, G–FINW. 

Abstract: This information collection 

is required to satisfy the requirements of 

the Securities Act Amendments of 1975 

and the Government Securities Act of 

1986 which require that any national 

bank that acts as a government 

securities broker/dealer or a municipal 

securities dealer notify the OCC of its 

broker/dealer activities. The OCC uses 

this information to determine which 

national banks are government and 

municipal securities broker/dealers and 

to monitor entry into and exit from 

government and municipal securities 

broker/dealer activities by institutions 

and registered persons. The OCC also 

uses the information in planning bank 

examinations. 

Type of Review: Renewal of a 

currently approved collection. The 

collection has not changed. The OCC 

asks only that OMB approve its revised 

estimates and extend its approval of the 

forms, revised only to add a clarification 

to the instructions. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES